BriefTea
Every story in sixty words
Get the free app no ads · no paywallExplained in plain English
Royal Mail was privatised in 2013, ending over 350 years of state ownership. It was bought by International Distributions Services (IDS) in 2022, a Dutch logistics firm. This change means decisions like job cuts are made by a private, international company, not the UK government, aiming for profit in a changing market.
Stories that explain this
Royal Mail cutting 2,500 head office jobs by end of 2027Related explainers
Why are letter volumes falling? How did privatisation happen? What is the 'universal service'? How do voluntary redundancies work? Who owns royal art? How does Royal Mail work? Is all royal property public? Who was Dr Cain's royal patient?The full catalogue
Browse every card filed under O →We would like to count visits and see which links bring readers here. That means storing a random ID in your browser. No cookies, no ads, no profile. How it works.